Hazy Moon

Stella stared into her bowl of ramen as Yui blew on a slice of pork. Stella had only managed to stammer out a shy hello since they sat down, but she wasn’t reluctant to embrace the silence as she ate.

It had been a week since the PR stunt. Two, since they had left the dorms and returned home for what her mother insistently referred to as “mandatory vacation leave.”

Stella was anxious to return and start her captain duties, but she’d just reached an extremely fragile agreement with her mother. She’d be risking her luck by getting defiant about some extra vacation time.

Stella crossed her ankles and rubbed her feet against each other nervously. She opened her mouth to say something—what, she hadn’t decided yet—but her mind shuttered every time she tried. The words just wouldn’t come.

Yui raised a questioning brow at her, but Stella pretended like she missed it as she picked up her chopsticks and began to stir her broth. She cursed her cowardly tongue.

As she followed Yui’s example and began to mindlessly slurp noodles into her mouth, she found herself entranced by the unique atmosphere of this particular locale—the first restaurant ever established in Stardust City, The Hazy Moon.

The red neon signs in the window confessed their use of magical energy with a low hum. The web-footed stars of the mural on the wall opposite their booth were an ever-mercurial, lifelike existence thanks to magic-infused painting techniques used by the artist.

Stella spotted a couple patrons at the bar, already laughing like they’d already foregone their senses before they’d even sampled their first taste of booze, and envied how carefree they were.

A bowl met the waxy surface of their table with a dull thud, and Stella suddenly no longer cared about the ambiance.

Yui dabbed her face with a napkin before crumpling it up and tossing it on the table. Their eyes met; Stella wished she could partake in a bottle of the liquid courage guarded by the bartender behind the counter.

“Sorry for not texting,” Yui said quietly.

“I-It’s totally fine! No big deal.”

While even a sign-of-life text would have been appreciated, Stella didn’t blame Yui for not reaching out—especially not when she knew what chat was always pinned at the top of Yui’s messages.

The goofy voice messages from lost comrades were gut-wrenching; the dated stickers were a knife twist. Just catching a hint of the chat out of the corner of her eye sent Stella spiraling.

And so, once again, with emphasis: they hadn’t talked.

“I heard you were promoted to captain?” Yui asked calmly.

“Uh…yeah,”she answered reluctantly. “It’s a title wasted on someone like me, though.”

“Really? Why?”

Stella blinked. “Huh?”

“The captain always praised your leadership qualities, so why would it be a waste?”

“Because I don’t deserve it,” Stella said quietly. She looked down at her lap and clenched her hands in the flames stitched into the hem of her shorts.

“I’m not strong. Hell, I’m not even that sharp. Everyone was putting their all into protecting me, but I assumed they’d do the same for anyone on the squad. I thought it was nothing special.”

Tears slid down her face and rippled in her pork broth as she continued, “And then I had the nerve to pretend in front of all those people that everything we accomplished was because of me. What kind of leader does that?”

“The kind that refused to leave me at the doors,” Yui answered. She scooted out from her side of the booth and settled next to Stella instead. She bumped their shoulders together. “And while I can’t speak for everyone, I was happy that I was able to protect you.”

Stella sniffed. “You were?”

“Yeah. More than you can imagine.” Yui’s eyes fluttered closed. “I lost my twin brother because I wasn’t able to keep him safe from the Aria. After that, I didn’t think I was capable of saving anyone. I only joined the Force because I wanted revenge.”

“You never told me you had a brother,” Stella whispered.

“He’s gone because of me,” Yui said as she looked away. “I wasn’t sure if I had the right to say I had one anymore.”

“What? Of course you do.”

Yui shrugged. “Maybe. But that’s beside the point.” She took Stella’s hand and squeezed it. “I only joined the Force to take revenge on the Aria, so the fact that you made it out alive during our last mission because I was looking out for you…you don’t need to feel bad about that.”

Stella had known Yui for a while, but she’d never opened up to her like this before. It was a privilege she didn’t deserve, but if Yui decided she was worthy, she had no place to question it.

“I’m grateful you don’t resent me,” Stella said, “but there’s plenty of people who will never be able to tell me how they really felt.”

“I know.”

“Something like this can never happen again. I’m not just saying that for the sake of our future recruits, either.” Stella wrapped her arms around herself. “I…I can’t handle a burden like this again, either.”

“As your subordinate—and your friend—just tell me what you want to do, and I’ll support you.”

Stella laughed sheepishly. “Actually, I think the biggest thing is already taken care of.”

“Meaning?”

Stella leaned back and let her head thud against the back of the booth with a sigh. “I confronted my mother and told her to rescind the order.” The chill in Yui’s starry blue eyes practically swallowed her as she continued, “And she agreed.”

“I’ll be honest,” Yui said, “I don’t like your mother, and I don’t trust her. Do you think she’ll keep her word?”

“I’m not too worried about that. If she tries to go behind my back and issues a new order, you’d tell me, wouldn’t you?”

Yui nodded.

Stella smiled and kicked her legs out. “As for other things I’d like your help with…I want to hold a ceremony for Captain Surge and the rest of our comrades.”

Yui gave her a feeble attempt at a smile, but her eyes were clearly pained as she said, “We…can do that. Even if it has to be unofficial. Anything else?”

Stella summoned a small flame in her palm. “I want to get stronger. I don’t want to just be protected. I want to be able to protect you, too.”

Yui stood and tossed some bills on the table. “Let’s go, then. We have the entire training grounds to ourselves, don’t we? I’ll spar with you as much as you need.”

“You know,” Stella started, a grin growing on her face as she extinguished the flame in her palm, “you really are the best friend anyone could ask for.”

Yui huffed out a laugh. “I think so, too.”